Nutraceuticals have long been the focus of scientific studies and the subject of debate. They are often considered to be more food than medicine. On the other hand, these naturally occurring substances have nutritional and medicinal properties that can help in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. Researchers from Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology in India believe that the addition of nutraceuticals to food products could lead to the development of safe functional foods that can promote overall health; hence, they isolated substances known to be beneficial to human health from crops and tested their safety as potential food additives. In their study published in in the Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, they characterized nutraceuticals extracted from barley flour, flaxseed, and rice bran oil to show that these plant components are safe to use as nutraceutical ingredients.

Using various analytical methods, the researchers reported that the variety of hull-less barley they chose contained high amounts of beta-glucan, while the lignan concentrate from flaxseed had a high secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) content and the gamma oryzanol concentrate had four major components, namely, cycloartenyl ferulate (CAF), 24?methylenecycloartanyl ferulate (24-MCF), campesteryl ferulate, and B?sitosteryl ferulate.

The researchers also confirmed through chromatographic and spectrometric analyses that the raw materials were not contaminated by any pesticide and that, of the three isolates, the gamma oryzanol concentrate had the lowest total plate count, yeast and mold count, and coliform count.

The health benefits of rice bran oil, flaxseed, and barley

Rice bran oil is a vegetable oil extracted from the germ and husk of rice kernels. In terms of composition, rice bran oil is similar to peanut oil, which contains safe and balanced levels of diverse fatty acids. Because of this, rice bran oil is considered healthier than other cooking oils. Rice bran oil helps lower cholesterol, improves skin health, promotes weight loss, prevents certain types of cancer, and protects heart health.

Flaxseeds are rich in micronutrients like healthy fats, vitamins, and minerals, and are good sources of dietary fiber which promote gut health. Flaxseeds come from flax, one of the oldest fiber crops on the planet, and are marketed today in the form of seeds, oil, capsules or tablets, and flour. Flaxseeds are known to prevent diabetes, high cholesterol, cancer, constipation, and other health problems.